Chapter 31 The Mystery of the Big Man
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
In the end, Diana forced me to sign a contract with a criminal slave, and I put the big guy on the back of the wagon and went back to the settlement.
It was already late, so we decided to wait until tomorrow to go hunting, and we decided to use the extra tent for the big man and separate him from the other men.
Diana was planning to let the other men sleep in the same tent with the big man as a watchdog or a deterrent to those who might think wrongly, but I convinced her that they would not sleep well in a tent with such an intimidating person, and more importantly, they would not be able to do their work due to lack of sleep.
So the next day, I asked the big man to go into the forest to hunt, but to my surprise, he went straight into the forest without any kind of weapons.
I tried to give him a sword before we left, but he silently refused to accept it.
As I was not strong enough to stand up to a stranger, I let him go into the forest if he insisted, but later I regretted that I should have forced him to take the sword, and I was not able to calm down for about two hours.
The reason why I say two hours is that about two hours after we entered the forest, the person came back with his right fist stained red, dragging a dead deer with its head shattered.
I guessed immediately that he had not smashed the head but crushed it, because the blood was sticking to the inside of his fist, not to the outside.
Frankly speaking, I don’t think I can imitate him even if I strengthened my muscles with magic.
After bringing back the dead deer, the big man went into the forest again with only his body, and after a while, he brought back another dead animal with a body part missing.
He repeated this several times, and finished the day’s hunting after killing a total of five animals.
We were fortunate that we did not waste any materials as we did with Heindahl, since we had someone who had experience in dismantling ordinary animals, so we were able to leave the dismantling to him.
But just when we thought we could end the day without any problems, it happened at dinner time.
”What? That man doesn’t eat meat?”
”Yes, I served him the meat we had caught today for dinner, but he only ate the vegetables on the side and didn’t eat any of the meat. I told him to eat it, but he wouldn’t.”
”Well, he didn’t seem to rebel at all when we hunted. I don’t know why he hates meat so much.”
”If Master Neil ordered it, we could force him to eat it.”
”No, it’s not good to force him to eat something he doesn’t like, it’ll only make him hate it more.”
”…Huff, you’re right.”
Diana lets out a sigh and slumps her shoulders, knowing that I won’t be using my contractor’s right of compulsion.
”Give him a break if he doesn’t like meat? Master Neil, where in the world can there be a master who cares about his slave’s dietary preferences? Are you asking me to prepare a different meal for a slave who doesn’t eat meat?”
”Oh, no, that’s the thing…”
To tell the truth, I had intended to do so, but I knew that without Diana’s clarification.
This world is not a rich place in terms of food, and except for those who can afford it, most of us have no choice but to eat what we have.
The only people who can choose and eat only the food they like are the aristocrats, so what I am trying to do now is like treating a slave as an aristocrat.
”If we do that, it will only cause unnecessary anxiety that there is something behind it.”
”I-I know that.”
I twisted my head to think what I should do, since I had already done it once.
”Well, what did he do this time, by the way?”
”He didn’t want to finish his meal, so I had no choice but to take his plate away. If I had waited for that man, I wouldn’t have been able to wash the dishes anytime soon.”
”I see.”
I’m relieved to hear that Diana didn’t force him to eat the plate or act like a school teacher who doesn’t allow a student to eat his school lunch until he’s finished.
However, it’s a problem that he doesn’t eat meat, since the variety of foods is currently limited, even if the quantity itself is not, his nutritional intake will be unbalanced if he doesn’t eat meat.
Besides, with that much muscle, it would be difficult to even maintain it if he doesn’t eat well.
I know that I should force him to eat if I consider his body first, but… in the end, I couldn’t decide to exercise my authority as a contracting owner, and the day ended without any conclusion.
The next day, I was curious about what happened yesterday, so I decided to sneak a peek at the man during the meal time.
Today’s breakfast consisted of bread, salad, and soup with meat, so if he really disliked meat, he would have left only the meat.
I looked down from the second floor of the house to avoid being recognized, and I saw the slaves eating together, probably still in the middle of their meals.
I watched them for a while, and then one by one they left the table, perhaps finishing their meal, until finally the man in question was the only one left.
As far as I could see, he did not seem to be moving his hands, but since I could not see any meat left at the bottom of the deep dish from here, I could not judge whether there was really any meat left or not.
While I was in a state of Schrodinger’s meat, I saw Diana coming out from inside the mansion to check on the situation.
I can’t understand their conversation from here, but I guess she was probably giving him a warning about the fact that he had left some food behind.
However, when the man does not show any sign of resuming the meal, Diana, perhaps overcome with patience, goes back inside the mansion, leaving the man alone in the room.
I wonder what is the reason why he stubbornly refuses to eat no matter how much Diana warns him.
I can’t help but feel that it’s not just a matter of likes and dislikes, so I walk towards the man, determined to ask him directly.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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